Being a fan of color it’s no wonder I’m attracted to the work of Sonia Delaunay.
I recently discovered a textile piece of hers at The Armory Show
in NYC (see below). Not only was Sonia a painter, but her work crossed
over to fashion, furniture and textile design. She and her husbandRobert Delaunay co-founded the Orphism art movement, an offshoot ofCubism.

The Tate is showing a retrospective of Sonia’s work until August 9th.
The show encompasses her paintings, fashion and textile design. It’s
no wonder she is considered the “European doyenne of Abstract Art”.

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For the music video “Why You so Cold” UK artist Toni Buckby used the
traditional embroidery technique, Blackwork, for the stop motion stills.
This project took her a year to complete, stitching up to 10 hours a day.
The Blackwork technique entails using black twisted thread on a white
or off white open weave canvas.

The concept behind the work:

“The aim of the project for me was to document the process of making
without my body and the actions it is performing being recorded, echoing
the lack of self-awareness associated with being in a state of, what is
described by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi as, ‘flow’, and, even
more fundamentally, conveying the anonymity of the craftsman.”

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With a past career in fashion, self taught “flourist” Amirah Kassem creates
the most unbelievable confections. Whether it’s creating a Murakami
smiling flower out of gumballs for this years Brooklyn ArtistsBall, or
Chinese takeout for Wu-Tang Clan‘s 20th birthday, her creations are
awe-inspiring, and really fun.

Amirah grew up in Mexico and her love for baking comes from playing in
the kitchen with her mother and grandmother. Amirah was never formally
trained and she will never use fondant. Her cakes are fun and cartoony.
The frosting without fondant creates imperfection which actually makes
them quite perfect.

But more importantly, her personal art is really expansive, too. There’s
works on paper, wood, canvas, shadowboxes, sculptures, and embroidery,
all guided by her individual sensibilities. It’s a spooky little world imagined
by Meyer; vaguely soft or pleasant, but with faces that unsettle and
occasional references to violence and feelings of emptiness. Through her
process Meyer builds up a lot of storied wear-and-tear on her surfaces
which greatly amplifies the broken-down qualities of her curious creatures.
Check out more of her work on her Esty Shop: Phylum Obscura or her
Facebook page.

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Artist, Nastasja Duthois, creates large and small scale embroidered
artworks that use shadow and negative space to tell a story. Stitching
thousands of straight lines, she creates organic shapes whether human,
animal or landscape.

I also like these smaller, darker, more whimsical canvases. A departure
from her artwork above, yet using the same style of stitching.

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Enter now a downtrodden and whimsical world of hazy edges and tiredhearts. This is the “Obsolete World,” the creation of Portland based artist,Jeannie Lynn Paske. It’s a place for the “make-believe creatures ofchildhood” that have faded with years past. Her work often includespowdered mediums and soft watercolor washes that embody a dust-likeessence of a dark fairytale. Lines scratch in the detail and build volumes,usually hairy and thoughtful beasts in quiet settings facing the weightedissues of existence, mortality, and meaning.

As of May 2014 Paske has published an art book, Wisdom for Debris,
which can be purchased on her site’s shop or her etsy shop, both of which
are full of a great variety of prints.

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In January 2013, Lorraine Loots started on a journey, one of diligence and
commitment, 365 days, 365 “paintings for ants.” Or in other words, tiny
masterworks, frequently no bigger than a nickel or dime. These pieces are
immaculately realized, varied in subject, and still going strong in 2015.

Check out her latest project, “Potluck 100 Paintings for Ants,” on her
instagram: @lorraineloots. And if you’re interested, Loots encourages a lot
of fan-interaction. Her followers can submit requests for booked dates
and bid on this year’s batch of paintings there or at her soon to come shop.

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Arthur Tress is a photographer known for his classic black and white
images dealing with visual interpretations of the dreams and nightmares of
children; aka the series: Dream Collector. These images key into a lot of
subtle psychology and feeling that both chill and intrigue. It’s a quality of
fear and wonder that only a child’s imagination could offer.

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Now that I am looking for an apartment, The Chamber of Curiosity –Apartment Design and the new Eleganceis a must have.
I love the eclectic mix of pattern, color, texture and collectables
in these homes. The pages are filled with gorgeous photography. I am
sure the people who live in these homes are as interesting as their decor.
Elegance is key and it is not contrived.

The namesake of this particular book is no mystery. Each of the presented spaces offer items of extremely diverse origins composed masterfully. It’s a curious thing when the lines between time and place start to blur and some new harmony emerges. If you’ve got an interest in living, breathing homes from around the world, I recommend you check
out this book.

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If you love cats, knitting and crochet, Sara Thomas‘ new book Cats in Hats
is a must have. What could be better than cute kitties wearing adorable
hats! Check out her Etsy shop, Scooter Knits, for more accessories for
your feline friends.